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| Our lovely front porch and Eric built us this fence! |
Happy July to you, our family and friends!
I am writing to you on a beautiful Gulu afternoon! The
weather has been delightful with just enough rain to satisfy the many crops and
plants that Eric has planted over the last couple of weeks! (YUM!! The harvest
is coming soon!)
This past month we have continued to settle into our life in
Gulu. We are about to celebrate 3 months of living in here, but first, we will
celebrate Eric’s birthday this coming weekend!
I joined a Bible study that meets weekly and I also formed a prayer group with
two other ladies- we meet every other Friday morning. Eric and I have hosted a
handful of new and old friends over for meals and overnight stays this past month. It is such a
gift to have a guest room and space for hosting. We are still praying and
working on building friendships here.
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| The herbicide test plot in the beginning. |
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| The herbicide test plot 4 weeks in! |
Eric has been working really hard around the yard- putting
up fences around our porches, as well as planting crops, herbs, flowers, and
trees and he has also organized a well planned and structured herbicide test
plot (I'll let him tell you more about that in another post). In addition, he works regularly with the
World Renew farm just outside of Gulu. He has traveled twice this past month
for work trips to look at farms with his colleagues and to help with
agricultural work in a village several hours from our home. He also
participated in a collaborative planning trip with a US-based university who is
organizing to send students on a several week learning trip to work alongside
the World Renew partners.
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| Eric hard at work! |
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| Getting the ground ready! George and Ceasar hard at work. |
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| The seeds have been planted and we are waiting for the harvest! |
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In early June, I got to spend time with an organization that
I have known for several years. The organization is called One Tribe and their main focus is building peace in war-impacted
communities through radio drama programs and community workshops centered on
elements of peace. They also work in the communities by training in skills that
strengthen personal and collective dignity. Their main focus is working with
South Sudanese and since the years of war, many South Sudanese are now living in
refugee camps in northern Uganda. I traveled (about 2 hours from Gulu) to the
camps and worked alongside the team.
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| Our team meeting with the Office of the Prime Minister, before we set out to the camps. |
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| Juma (left) is a dear friend and student from LASS who I have known for over 6 years, he volunteers with One Tribe on translation and recording of the radio dramas as well as acting as an advocate for the organization. |
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| Community Peace Building workshop with One Tribe. |
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| The expensive view from the northern refugee camps. |
In the latter part of June, I traveled to Kampala for a work
conference, where I met with the team I work with on curriculum and we were
able to review the work we have gotten done so far this year and evaluate ways in which we need to progress forward. I am so grateful for this work that I get to do. I
love education and curriculum that is Christ-centered and it is truly life
transforming. The curriculum that I get to work on is training the youth of
East Africa in spiritual disciplines, character development, and servant
leadership. This work has been ongoing for over 25 years and I have witnessed
first hand how the truths and lessons in this curriculum have impacted and influenced so many! It is a gift to work alongside east Africans friends who strive each day to see
greater healing and change for their region.
While in Kampala, I went to the doctors for my 14-week
pregnancy check-up. It is a miracle to me that we have made it this far and we
are absolutely grateful! All looked good and the baby is growing!
We have a full July ahead of us and we look forward to
sharing about it in our next update! Until then, many thanks for your continual
love, support, prayers, and care for us.
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| The dogs love to find places to rest and play among the dirt! |
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| Waiting for an edible handout! |
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| After driving on mudddddddyy roads, it got to this point! The car was covered in mud! |
Love,
Lauren and Eric
